Kill the Goose

There's absolutely nothing to like about California Senate Bill 435, which will outlaw aftermarket exhaust pipes and expand police power.

This bill's sponsor, Senator Fran Pavley, is someone who's always been antagonistic towards the biker community. Same goes for Assembly Member Bonnie Lowenthal, who's chairman of the Transportation Committee. They will vote on SB435 today, and the odds are stacked against us ... as they have been for some time.

A lot of bikers are upset because ABATE can't kill the bill, and use words like "rolling over" and such. I know this isn't true because I've been fighting against this bill, right along with many other ABATE members, all of whom are livid about SB435. I also know that the ABATE leadership team has given it their best effort, and now they're trying to minimize the harm that this bill would inflict upon all of us.

As much as I hate giving any quarter, I must also admit that SB435 is not as bad as it once was. Our leadership AND our membership have made significant progress on reducing the adverse impact of this bill. I respect and appreciate every bit of initiative, hard work, persistence, and team work that a lot of people put into it so far. And people are still fighting the good fight. So to everyone who stepped up I say THANK YOU!

But let's take a step back and ask ourselves this question:

How can we stop bills like this BEFORE they happen?

It all boils down to whether legislators like Pavley and Lowenthal have anything to fear from us. Right now, obviously not! And whether we continue fight SB435, or grudgingly accept the lesser evil, the fix is only temporary. There will always be more bills to come ... as well as our noisy reactions ... until we make anti-biker bills into a career-ending proposition for legislators.

We bikers put an astounding amount of work into fighting this bill. Hundreds of letters. Tens of thousands of signatures. Untold hours of debating and negotiating. Packing the hearing room to the rafters. But all of our work did NOT rise one single step above expressing our opinion. We told our legislators what we thought ... but they can choose not to listen because they see no consequences.

We talked the talk, but are we prepared to walk the walk?

Imagine we could turn back time to exactly two years ago, on the 28th day of June in 2008. And on that very day, knowing SB435 is looming in our future, what should we do? Nip it in the bud, of course.

We don't need a time machine to know that every session, biker-hating nanny-crats like Pavley and Lowenthal are coming after our rights. We KNOW what lies ahead, as sure as the sun will rise tomorrow morning. Should we wait until someone submits an anti-biker bill, and only then voice our opposition?

Well that's exactly what we did.

Now imagine the amount of work bikers put into reacting to SB435. Heck, even one-tenth of that amount is still a ton. But imagine instead, back in the summer of 2008, we put that energy into close races -- as campaign volunteers -- against candidates like Pavley and Lowenthal.

Well it's 2010, and its another election year. So let's kill the goose:

No more goose; no more goose eggs.

There are already candidates across the state, running right now, who want to lay some eggs on us during the 2011 and 2012 sessions. It's a FACT. And it has been a fact in every election ... since before any of us ever threw a leg over a motorcycle.

As Santayana once said, "those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."

Let's fill another room with bikers. Only this time, let's make it in a biker-friendly candidate's campaign headquarters. That is where legislators will take notice because it's a matter of job security. Then they can't ignore us in a committee hearing, like they did today. All we have to do is earn their respect by becoming relevant during an election year.

Want to kill SB435? See you on the campaign trail.

- RIDE2REPEAL@gmail.com
PS: Thanks to ABATE of California!